Book description
In the summer of 1967 Greta Garbo comes to Donegal. Ireland is on
the verge of violent change. Two couples are on the verge of parting.
A woman tries to save her family, while a girl tries to save her
future. Seemingly above it all is the loveliest and loneliest of all
women, the great Garbo. But when the gods arrive, they can cause
havoc, not least to themselves, as the divine Greta is to learn. Frank
McGuinness's Greta Garbo Came to Donegal premiered at the Tricycle
Theatre, London, in January, 2010.
Frank McGuinness was born in Buncrana, Co. Donegal, and now lives in
Dublin and lectures in English at University College Dublin. His plays
include: The Factory Girls (Abbey Theatre, Dublin, 1982), Baglady
(Abbey, 1985), Observe the Sons of Ulster Marching Towards the Somme
(Abbey, 1985; Hampstead Theatre, London, 1986), Innocence (Gate Theatre,
Dublin, 1986), Carthaginians (Abbey, 1988; Hampstead, 1989), Mary and
Lizzie (RSC, 1989), The Bread Man (Gate, 1991), Someone Who'll Watch
Over Me (Hampstead, West End and Broadway, 1992), The Bird Sanctuary
(Abbey, 1994), Mutabilitie (NT, 1997), Dolly West's Kitchen (Abbey,
1999; Old Vic, 2000), Gates of Gold (Gate, 2002), Speaking Like Magpies
(Swan, Stratford, 2005) and There Came a Gypsy Riding (Almeida, London,
2007). His widely performed versions include Ibsen's Rosmersholm (1987),
Peer Gynt (1988), Chekhov's Three Sisters (1990), Lorca's Yerma (1987),
Brecht's The Threepenny Opera (1991), Hedda Gabler (1994), Uncle Vanya
(1995), A Doll's House (1997), The Caucasian Chalk Circle (1997),
Sophocles' Electra (1998), Ostrovsky's The Storm (1998), Strindberg's
Miss Julie (2000), Euripides' Hecuba (2004), Racine's Phaedra (2006),
Ibsen's The Lady from the Sea (2008) and Sophocles' Oedipus (2008).
